The Way of Kindness

In his preface to a collection of stories called "The Kindness of Strangers," His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote, "Kindness and compassion are among the principal values that make our lives meaningful... At any given moment there must be hundreds of millions of acts of kindness taking place around the world."

That theme infuses the five travelers' tales we're publishing this week, all portraying acts of unexpected kindness in a globe-embracing spectrum of settings, from Syria and Liberia to India, Greece and Russia. These acts are not dramatic or headline commanding, but small, everyday kindnesses.

As travelers, we have found that these small acts are the filaments that weave the carpet of human life. And collecting these five stories has reminded us that most people around the world, whatever their background and beliefs, care deeply for their fellow human beings, however foreign they may seem.

Have you experienced an unexpected act of kindness on the road? Do you have your own "way of kindness" tale to tell? We'd love to hear it!